What would Canadians give up for an extra $250 a month in savings? Cell phone, personal grooming, social media - Sex, not so much

ING DIRECT survey finds Canadians open to sacrificing some indulgences in return for a healthier savings account

TORONTO, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Saving takes commitment and ING DIRECT recently found that while more than half of Canadians (52%) don't save regularly each month, the majority (81%) would be willing to give up some things in exchange for a richer savings account.

The new survey from ING DIRECT found that when push comes to shove, many Canadians would relinquish what most consider "hard to live without" items or activities for a certain period of time - even for a hypothetical $250 a month in extra savings.

Things Canadians are willing to sacrifice for extra savings:

Nearly three - quarters of Canadians surveyed (72%) would pass on social media (i.e. Facebook^®, Twitter^® and Instagram™) for three months in exchange for the opportunity to set aside an extra $250 a month in savings. Interestingly, more Canadian men (78%) then women (67%) would be willing to say goodbye to social media for the short term.

Three months of personal grooming (i.e. trips to the hairdresser, nail salon, shaving) would be skipped by 67% of Canadians in return for $250 more savings each month.

Sixty-four per cent would easily turn down three months of entertainment, such as eating out, going to the movies and watching sporting events. Older Canadians ages 55+ are least likely to give up entertainment (58%) for that long.

Just over half of Canadians (53%) would give up one month of cell phone use for the chance to save more money, with younger Canadians ages 18-34 least willing to make the trade-off (45%).

Sex, however, is one sacrifice many Canadians aren't willing to make. According to the survey, 44% of respondents said they would not give up six months of sex. Female respondents (37%) are far more willing to abstain than their male counterparts (26%).

"It seems to us that a key theme among Canadians is that they are very open to making sacrifices to grow their savings," said Peter Aceto, president and CEO, ING DIRECT. "The survey found more than half of Canadians (56%) don't feel confident that they're saving enough each month, but with simple planning, budgeting and by making small changes to their day-to-day spending habits, Canadians can in fact grow their future savings."

Aceto added: "Taking advantage of savings opportunities, like the current ING DIRECT Savings Sale, and setting up an automatic savings program, are very easy ways to help grow your savings in a simple, thoughtful, steady way. This is very Canadian if you ask me!"

Additional Survey Highlights:

• Of those Canadians who save on a monthly basis (48%), 59% put their money into a general savings account, 41% deposit into a Tax-Free Savings Account,  24% save in an RSP and 13% invest in mutual funds
• A third of Canadians (33%) who save money each month put aside between $1 and $100; 21% save between $101 and $200

ING DIRECT is running a Savings Sale* until June 30, 2013. New deposits into an Investment Savings Account, Tax-Free Investment Savings Account (TFSA) or RSP Investment Savings Account will earn 2.5% interest. For details, visit ingdirect.ca/sale.

About the Survey

On February 26, 2013, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1,506 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panel members. The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The sample was balanced by age, gender and region according to the most recent census data. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About ING DIRECT

ING Bank of Canada, operating under the trade name of ING DIRECT, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank. ING DIRECT is Canada's leading direct bank with over 1.8 million Clients and close to $40 billion in total assets. ING DIRECT is a bright way forward in everyday banking for Canadians, offering value added, simple products such as high interest savings accounts, including TFSAs, GICs and RSPs with no fees or service charges, low rates on mortgages and a no-fee, daily chequing account that actually pays interest. Low cost, index based mutual funds are sold through ING DIRECT Funds Limited. ING DIRECT has been operating in Canada since 1997, and has paid more than $5 billion in interest to Clients. ING DIRECT is open for banking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at ingdirect.ca, on mobile devices at m.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800 ING DIRECT (1-800-464-3473).

ING Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries have been acquired by The Bank of Nova Scotia and are no longer affiliated with ING Groep N.V. The trademarks ING, ING DIRECT, ING Lion, the ING Lion logo and any derivation, variation, translation or adaptation thereof are trademarks of ING Groep N.V. and are used under license.

^* Savings Sale rate of 2.50% is calculated daily, paid monthly and will be applied to the first $250,000 (CAD) of personal ISA balance growth from April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013. This rate does not apply to internal balance transfers made from other ING DIRECT Accounts, including GICs.

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™ Instagram is a trademark of Instagram Inc.

SOURCE ING DIRECT